Our History

Singleton Parish Council was formed 120 years ago in 1894, and is the first tier of local government. Singleton parish follows the old ecclesiastical boundaries of the parish church and back in the 1900s was under the ownership of three major landlords. These three areas are as follows:-

1) Mains Hall Estate which is at the northern end of the parish in Little Singleton
2) Bankfield Estate at the southern end of Little Singleton, including Grange
3) Singleton Estate, which is the village itself, which was bought by Alderman Thomas Miller, a cotton manufacturer from Preston in 1853. When he died in 1865, his eldest child Thomas Horrocks Miller inherited it and in 1916 the Great Singleton Estate passed to the eldest grandson of Thomas’s sister, a man named Richard Dumbreck. When Mr Dumbreck died in 2003 he left his estate to be administered by a trust, the present Richard Dumbreck Singleton Trust.

A significant amount of land and housing is owned by the Richard Dumbreck Singleton Trust, which is dedicated to preserving land and properties according to the last will of the former owner Richard Dumbreck.

St Anne’s Church in Singleton was built in 1860. This church replaced the previous church (built in 1804) and was built by Thomas Miller who wanted to create a community church more in keeping with his status and able to hold more people than the original smaller church. The stain glass windows were donated by members of both his and his wife’s families.

Singleton C E Primary School in Church Road was built in 1862. Again this was funded by Thomas Miller who also funded for the provision of a Headteacher and assistants. The architects were Austin and Paley.

Mains Hall is a Grade 2 listed building and was built in 1686 by Thomas and Margaret Hesketh. The Church is also a Grade 2 listed building, as is the Fire Station and the Dovecot.